Ten Years
by Shadow2700
Summary: A tribute to the end of Inuyasha.


The leaves swirled in delight for two people that sat beneath the leaves at the base of the Sacred Tree that had bound them together so long ago. The man had his silver hair blow in the wind with his dog ears joining them in sequence to meet the black hair of the woman below him. Her eyes were closed as she rested in her husband's arms and let her head fall just underneath his chin which rested on top of her.

It was hard to believe that they had days like this now where they could simply rest with each other and enjoy the sunshine that was cast on them. It was days like this that made them happy to know that they no longer had to deal with the demon that had caused Inuyasha at one point not to trust humans anymore. But that had changed once Kagome had come over ten long years ago.

"I can't believe that it's been this long since I came over." Kagome spoke quietly as she continued to rest in Inuyasha's arms.

"I can, after all, if you didn't…I wouldn't have been able to become the man I am today…or your husband." Inuyasha smiled as he looked at her with a loving smile. Kagome laughed happily gaining a questioning look from him.

"No matter how many times I hear that, it will never dull Inuyasha. And neither will my love for you." Kagome leaned up and gave him a gentle kiss before resting back into his chest. Inuyasha smiled as she told him this and knew it to be true, because she had not faulted in this and neither had he.

"Kagome…I hate to think of what my life would've been like if you hadn't changed my heart. But it doesn't matter…we'll never have to know that." Inuyasha told her in a gentle voice. "Though it's hard to imagine how we started off, right?" he added with a laugh. Kagome joined in for a minute before they stopped and she spoke.

"It really is. I can't believe that's how we first met. You, thinking I was Kikyo and attacking me to get the jewel shard. Me, just trying to get home and get away from the monster that was chasing me." Inuyasha looked at her in surprise.

"Monster? Me? Why would you think that?" Inuyasha asked her in a little anger. Kagome just laughed.

"Hey, just imagine if you were in my shoes. You'd do the same thing." Inuyasha looked continued to look at her and laughed.

"Yeah, you're probably right about that. Speaking of which, are you ever going to take off these beads of mine?" Inuyasha asked pointing to the necklace he still wore after all these years.

"Hmm…" Kagome placed a finger on her cheek in a thinking pose. "Nope…they're really useful if you ever disagree with me." Kagome told him. "So that's that."

"Oh well, I tried, besides…I doubt it would matter anyways. After all, I never disagree with you because I know that you're always right most of the time." Inuyasha sat back against the tree as she sat back against him.

"Well, not always. You're right some of the times and you've become really wise in time." Kagome reassured him as she gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Hey, when you're surrounded by people like you, Miroku, despite the pervert he was, Sango and Shippo, well you tend to learn a thing or two." Inuyasha chuckled as he brushed some hair from Kagome's eyes.

"Good, because if you didn't, I'd being saying that word a lot more often on purpose than on accident." Kagome laughed.

"Thank god that those moments are rare now." Inuyasha sighed at her remark. "To think that you did that to me on a regular basis."

"Well…sometimes you had it coming…when we first met or when you'd…run off to find Kikyo." the light from Kagome's eyes seemed to disappear a little. Inuyasha noticed this and quickly embraced her.

"Kagome…I tell you how sorry I am for doing that to you, and I tell you of the guilt that I feel every time you mention times like that. Every time I remember that…I can't ever forgive myself for hurting you like that. I'll NEVER forgive myself for that." Inuyasha seemed to stiffen up now. "But it times like that…that make me thank whoever's out there that I found you." Kagome nuzzled her face into his neck.

"I know Inuyasha…I will always forgive you. It was long ago and I understand why you did it. So I don't see the point in remembering it anymore, other than to keep her memory alive." Kagome reassured him.

"Hey, you were the one that brought it up. And I noticed the light disappear from eyes a little…that's why I just I just hugged you and said those things." Inuyasha told her in a matter-of-fact tone.

"I know, I did that on purpose just to get you to say that." Kagome giggled as she looked at him. Inuyasha looked thunderstruck.

"Damn it…I should've known. You always do that to me and yet I never see it. That's how I know women are smarter than men." Inuyasha sighed.

"You're damn right we are…but it's only because we want to impress the men." Kagome sat in front of him as she pointed a finger in his chest.

"Well, you better not do that to other men…especially Koga." Inuyasha growled to her in a playful manner.

"Oh don't worry. I wouldn't have any other man except you." Kagome quickly hugged him again while laughing as Inuyasha joined in with her. "Speaking of which, how is Koga?" Kagome asked while Inuyasha shrugged.

"I don't know. Last I heard he was still after you." Inuyasha told her.

"You think he's still trying to get me to be his woman?" Kagome asked him as she sat up in his chest.

"We'll if he's smart, I would. It's been seven years since you came back and we became husband and wife. He should know that by now…or else." Inuyasha added a hint of warning to his voice for Koga.

"Oh I'm sure he knows…and if he doesn't and still tries something with me…well let's just say it won't be pretty." Kagome had a similar tone in her voice.

"Kagome…you know that I like it when you're feisty." Inuyasha growled seductively in her ear. He was surprised to hear someone else's voice in response to his comment.

"Inuyasha, shouldn't you save moments like that for the night time?" Miroku asked him as he and Sango walked up with their children walking beside them.

"And here's the pervert now. You dirty bastard, you just like listening to our private moments don't you?" Inuyasha asked now mad at Miroku's intrusion.

"Well you could listen to OUR private moments if you like to Inuyasha." Miroku retorted back to him taking a seat with Sango and their children next to them.

"No thanks. No offense to you and Sango, but I'm trying not to say anything in front the kids and my apologies for saying bastard in front of them…and that one too." Inuyasha told them as he let Kagome go to greet two of the children while the youngest one played with Inuyasha's ears. "You're lucky I don't mind them playing with them anymore Miroku."

"I'm glad, I don't feel like having my body torn to pieces." Miroku sighed in relief.

"Yeah besides, I do that enough with him." Sango reminded him of his deeds.

"Come on Sango, we've been married for ten years! Can't you let up once in a while?" Miroku asked hoping the answer is yes.

"No, because I don't always like those moments of yours happening every hour it seems like." Sango gave him a glare telling him to back off.

"After all we've been through, you still won't let me do that." Miroku sighed. "I'll convince her one day."

"No you won't. I learned that a long time ago from Kagome. Besides, woman win these types of agruements and I don't to disagree with Kagome, ever." Inuyasha warned him from trying to convince Sango anymore.

"And why don't you disagree with Kagome now then?" Sango asked Inuyasha as she gave him a quick hug realizing she hadn't done so yet as she usually did.

"Well for starters, these beads are still around my neck." Inuyasha pointed to the beads again. "And second, she's right almost every single time."

"Inuyasha, I told you that I'm not always right." Kagome said as she sat back next to him.

"And I tell you that you're almost right every time. You're smarter than me, I'm not afraid to admit it." Inuyasha told as he nuzzled his head into her neck while Miroku and Sango looked on, never being ceased to be amazed at how much they loved each other. "Oh and nice job avoiding the key words of our little talk in front of the kids."

"Well, we've had practice. Speaking of which, were are yours at?" Sango asked them.

"Just look behind you." Kagome pointed behind them. Sango and Miroku turned around to see that Inuyasha's and Kagome's daughters had appeared directly behind them without their knowing it, shocking them a little.

"Ah! Holy…Inuyasha, when did your daughters become quiet and agile that they could do that?!" Miroku fell on his back from the shock.

"For a while now. Good job you two." Inuyasha laughed and motioned for them sit with him and Kagome.

"Of course daddy!" the two half-demon girls answered in unison. The older one that sat on Inuyasha's right side had black hair like her mother's with two black dog ears sticking out from the top while the other one that sat on Kagome's left side had silver hair. Both pretty much resembled their mother in every way except for their eyes and the other one black hair.

"And this is also the other reason I don't argue with Kagome or any woman is because of these two." Inuyasha smiled and kissed his daughter on the forehead, receiving a giggle from her.

"Daddy, you're embarrassing me!" she said laughing her eyes out.

"Not as much as you embarrass me…and speaking of which, I smell Shippo coming here quickly." Inuyasha pointed over there hill.

"Hey you guys!" the now much older Shippo waved to his friends as he walked towards them.

"Hey Shippo!" Kagome called back as she let the girls go and greet the fox demon. Inuyasha watched as his children ran to Shippo, happy that he was the father of them and that Kagome had been the one to give birth to them. Inuyasha wrapped an arm around Kagome who leaned into him with ease and comfort.

"It's amazing, isn't guys?" Inuyasha asked the three of them as all the children now played with Shippo. The others looked at him in question.

"What's amazing Inuyasha?" Kagome asked as she and the others looked and waited for his answer. He was silent for awhile as he tried to find the words.

"Ten years…ten long years ago. We were all seeking to do one thing, we all met under the same circumstances, we all had tragedies that were the same. They were all linked to that bastard." Inuyasha began while the others remembered those days when they fought along side of each other.

"We were all so young back then…I still find it amazing that it was a long, distance memory. But we went through so many things…so many trials…that shaped us and showed us what we truly were. That we had the closet bonds of anyone that I could think of."

The others smiled at Inuyasha's wisdom that he had gained over the years.

"We all went through change. Sango became possibly the strongest person I've ever seen in my eyes other than Kagome." Inuyasha smiled at Sango.

Sango lit up at his comment and smiled gently at him.

"Miroku learned to stop womanizing other women…in time…and learned to make peace…and to love."

Miroku smiled at him as well as he wrapped and arm around Sango.

"Shippo has come from being a little child demon to someone that I can be proud of." Inuyasha and the others looked at him as he continued to play with them. Inuyasha then continued on.

"I…I was truly one of the worst people you could ever meet in your life time. I was stupid, too proud, I didn't trust anyone but myself. I was jealous, a pain to everyone around me." Inuyasha seemed to stiffen up again as he looked at Kagome. "Until Kagome…broke me free from that. She taught me how to shed tears, to laugh, to trust and to…love." Inuyasha smiled at her as she smiled at him.

"Now here we are…all this time later, with children, in peace. We're enjoying the sun light and the wind and each other, not caring what will happen tomorrow but happy to know that we're together today." Inuyasha looked up at the clouds as he thought of all the things that happened to them.

"And none of it would have happened if Kagome hadn't come into our lives. Everything that transpired between us happened when she set me free from this tree." Inuyasha patted his hand against the tree. "She set me free, then split the jewel shards apart, which in turn led us to Shippo, then Miroku, then Sango and eventually came full circle and was completed and destroyed. Kagome then came back and now here we are." Inuyasha smiled for the millionth time. "And I wouldn't have changed any of it."

The others looked at him and smiled as Shippo and the children sat around them in varied positions as they listened to Inuyasha finish speaking and smiled as well.

"And now were simply living a wonderful life, with our children and remembering those that have impacted our lives." Miroku spoke for the first time in a while.

"Lady Kaede." Sango said.

"Kikyo." Inuyasha spoke next.

"Grandpa." Kagome was the last to speak remembering him fondly as the others remember each one as best as the could.

"They may have passed, but their spirits live on and watch over us." Miroku reassured them as they smiled.

"And now here we are, just being happy and being with ones we love the most." Kagome spoke up. "I don't want any of this to end. Ever."

"Neither do I Kagome, neither do I." Inuyasha told.

"We'll always be together, no matter what happens." Sango told them.

"Always." Miroku added.

"Always." Shippo and the children said in unison.

"Always." Inuyasha and Kagome said together as they looked at each other and then with the others looked at the sky as the clouds moved slowly.

Their adventure may have ended years ago. The trials they faced and the moments that almost tore them apart only made them stronger. Naraku causing all they're pain had been his downfall as they joined together and defeated him. Everyone they met and encountered, Kikyo, Sesshomaru, Totosai, Rin, Jaken, Kohaku, Koga, Myoga, Kirara, everyone of them had shaped their fates and each had fought along side each other and had won, gaining freedom from Naraku and finally at last able to live with and love the ones they loved the most, and remember that everything had happened for a purpose, waiting to see what the next day would bring.

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**I wrote this as a tribute to the people and writers of Inuyasha as a thank you for all the adventures they came up with and all the chapters and stories that meant something to us. They say good things most come to an end, and unfortunately this was one of them. But it was well worth it and was an incredible ride and joy to read the happy moments and heart wrenching sad ones that made it so good. I'm sure that there will be fan fiction for this, but now that it's at an end, it's sad knowing that I can't wait for the next chapter anymore, but I will always remember this adventure and be inspired by it's tale. I thank everyone that made Inuyasha possible and I hope that they will continue to make great works. And as much as I hope they come out with a Inuyasha part two, I don't think that will happen and I'd be happy knowing that as it was a great adventure and doesn't need anymore to it. May Inuyasha live on forever. **


End file.
